Chapter 122 Episode 19: History at night (3)

Tarkan fixed his gaze on the flower beds that were littered like pebbles under the yellow sunlight, then he stealthily glanced at the two of them.

Aristine was still looking at him with questioning eyes and as for his royal father…

‘He’s completely enjoying this.’

His face looked serious, but he seemed like he would burst into laughter with a little poke. Even now, his lips were twitching.

Tarkan turned away again.

He never wanted Aristine to feed him jelly too. There’s no way he would want that.

“Ehem, by the way, I heard you are starting an unusual business?” Nephther cleared his throat and asked Aristine.

‘As expected.’

Aristine inwardly nodded to herself.

Even though the events occurred within Tarkan’s palace, it couldn’t avoid the King’s sight.

‘Besides, I haven’t really treated it like a secret.’

She expected it to come up during this teatime.

“Although, it is not uncommon for a newly married Princess Consort to start their own business right away.” (Nephther)

“That is true. But I…” (Aristine)

I want to be rolling in money.

She couldn’t respond that way.

Aristine gave a virtuous smile, like an upright person without any greed whatsoever.

“I told Your Majesty about this last time, didn’t I? About what I want to do.”

Those words made Nephther recall what happened on the day he saw Aristine for the first time.

[To wash away the stigma that Irugo is a country of barbarians.]

This daring Princess Consort certainly said that that was what she wanted. And that was also Nephther’s desire.

Nephther’s eyes which were relaxed, tightened discerningly.

“As you might know, Royal father, the idea I am pushing ahead with is a medical scalpel business. I plan to bring an innovative scalpel that has never been seen before to the world. If this succeeds, Irugo will—.”

Aristine curled her lips, dragging out her sentence. It was confident smile.

“We will quickly be recognized as a medical powerhouse.”(Nephther)

Aristine smiled brightly
. Her eyes curved in the shape of a half-mood, “Yes, that is correct.”

No one would consider a medical powerhouse barbaric. With this, a hundred years of stigma could be overturned at once.

Medicine was a matter concerning human life.

Unless there was an alternative, other countries would all try to obtain the scalpel made by Aristine. And there was no country that surpassed the metal industry in Irugo.

‘That practically means there will soon be no alternative.’

They would have to use the Irugoian scalpel. That would give Irugo a huge advantage in diplomatic relations.

‘How smart! And clever!’

No, even saying that was not enough.

Nephther almost wanted to grab Aristine’s hand and say he would grant any request she had. At the same time, he felt regret that he couldn’t think of such an idea earlier. As they say, the most difficult thing is to come up with an original idea.

‘However.’

All of this was based on one premise.

‘That the scalpel that Aristine makes is exceptional enough to change the market.’

Nephther’s eyes narrowed.

‘If it’s not, it will be a failure.’

“Are you confident in what you’ve made?”

Nephther asked, causing Aristine to lift her head.

“It cannot simply be a ‘more comfortable scalpel’. If it’s okay to use it and okay to not use it, then all it will do is bring in some money. You can never become a medical powerhouse.”

Hearing those words, Aristine didn’t get nervous, rather, she took a sip of her iced tea in a calm and relaxed manner.

‘I’m most interested in that ‘some money’ aspect though.’

But she couldn’t say that.

If King Nephther opposed the idea, this business was bound to collapse before it could even properly begin.

As she felt the cold liquid running down her throat, Aristine flashed a smile.

“If I wasn’t confident, I wouldn’t have brought it up to you, Your Majesty.”

Nephther stared at Aristine without saying a word.

Even when faced with his daunting gaze, Aristine didn’t waver at all and just faced him calmly.

‘Good eyes.’

Even if the market reaction to the scalpel wasn’t very good, there was really nothing to lose. After all, it wasn’t going to deepen the prejudice that Irugo is country of barbarians.

‘But the Queen’s faction is different.’

Small mistakes were bound to happen when doing business. But the Queen’s faction would not let such mistakes slide.

‘They will probably use it as an excuse to change the public’s favorable opinion of Aristine.’

In this situation, it wasn’t good to do something that could give them such an excuse.

“Rineh, if you fail, the Queen will make her move.”

“I am also aware,” Aristine replied, her eyes as calm and clear as a deep well.

Nephther nodded, “I shall trust you this once.”

Nephther had also received reports on how Aristine’s scalpel looked like.

‘With that, success should be on the horizon.’

It gave him enough reason to think that.

“I will definitely do my best to live up to your trust, Royal Father.”

Aristine said and looked at Tarkan. Their eyes met instantly, and she grinned.

‘So? Didn’t I do well?’

When she blinked at him in a way that seemed to ask that, Tarkan chuckled under his breath.

‘Hehe! I can earn my money and do my job as a partner too. I’m practically perfect!’

Aristine looked around feeling proud of herself.

After handling the anticipated issue, she was finally able to enjoy this beautiful and magnificent courtyard.

Her eyes turned to the waterway that cut through the courtyard. She liked the sound of running water she’d been hearing. Just listening to it made her feel refreshed.

The clear water reflected the early summer trees. And the shadows of the trees flickered along the waves.

‘Oh?’

The shadows of the trees looked strange. They weren’t moving along with the flow of the water. Or more precisely…

‘The water isn’t flowing; it’s swaying in place.’

It was a sign of her Monarch’s Sight.

Inevitably, something else was reflected on the water surface instead of the trees.